By: Nick Clark
Sometimes it’s good to be at the bottom of the list. Especially when it comes to complaints from home-owners, farmers, and business consumers about Alberta’s electricity and natural gas marketers.
Let me explain.
The Edmonton Journal reported last week that Direct Energy counted for over 80 per cent of complaints made about Alberta energy marketers in 2105.
The Calgary Herald covered a similar angle. Recent charges against Direct Energy under Alberta’s consumer protection laws reflect a marked increase in complaints about the Houston-based company to the Alberta Utility Consumer Advocate.
The majority of calls to the UCA are customers looking for advice and information about their utility situation. The watchdog’s annual report for 2013-2014 says the most common queries received by mediation officers revolve around, “Billing issues; concerns about misrepresentation and sales tactics; early exit fees; and disconnections for non-payment or non-application.”
Here’s the graph that appeared in the Edmonton Journal.
You can see that complaints about Utility.net in yellow barely register.
Yet Direct Energy—charted in purple—tops the list. Why? Direct Energy is a formidable and solid company owned by Centrica out of the UK. Possible reasons may be attributed to outsourcing integral services such as customer care, call centres, and billing and sales people who knock on your doors.
Maybe it is time for our NDP government to require utilities to employ Albertans.
Both Direct and Just Energy moved all customer care and billing services out of Alberta. You will find their call centres located in various places such as the U.S., Guatemala, and Cebu. Last year, Direct also outsourced customer billing services to HCL in India.
The two competitive retailers competing for a perfect record are ENCOR and UTILITYnet. To be completely transparent, UTILITYnet is the Calgary-based utility retailer that I co-own with Madeline Low. We’ve dedicated 35 years to improving our customer care, billing and business activities for 24 of Alberta’s independent boutique retailers in the province; we’ve also just launched Green Alberta Energy in support of renewable resources. Some of the retailers under the UTILITYnet umbrella include Sponsor, Get Energy, Mountain View Power, Bow Valley and Spot Power. Here’s the complete list.
In recent years, we had one complaint from a customer and that person was referred to the UCA. The consumer felt that it was his right not to pay his utility bill, if he didn’t want too. The case was dismissed.
The staff at UNET do a great job for all retailers. So, as we start another New Year, we want to thank everyone who makes this possible...and who keep us at the bottom of the complaint list.
By the way, 2015 ended on a positive note for customers who are on the Floating Rate in Alberta. Power Pool prices dropped 32% between 2014 and 2015. For the last 6 consecutive months, Pool Prices have been at record lows and this translated into savings for consumers. Indexed to the cost of generation, consumers paid 3.5 cents per kWh in December.
There’s more Good News in 2016:
You’ve got a powerful choice: You can support Alberta-based utility companies…pay less…and even get great customer service.
Let me explain.
The Edmonton Journal reported last week that Direct Energy counted for over 80 per cent of complaints made about Alberta energy marketers in 2105.
The Calgary Herald covered a similar angle. Recent charges against Direct Energy under Alberta’s consumer protection laws reflect a marked increase in complaints about the Houston-based company to the Alberta Utility Consumer Advocate.
The majority of calls to the UCA are customers looking for advice and information about their utility situation. The watchdog’s annual report for 2013-2014 says the most common queries received by mediation officers revolve around, “Billing issues; concerns about misrepresentation and sales tactics; early exit fees; and disconnections for non-payment or non-application.”
Here’s the graph that appeared in the Edmonton Journal.
You can see that complaints about Utility.net in yellow barely register.
Yet Direct Energy—charted in purple—tops the list. Why? Direct Energy is a formidable and solid company owned by Centrica out of the UK. Possible reasons may be attributed to outsourcing integral services such as customer care, call centres, and billing and sales people who knock on your doors.
Maybe it is time for our NDP government to require utilities to employ Albertans.
Both Direct and Just Energy moved all customer care and billing services out of Alberta. You will find their call centres located in various places such as the U.S., Guatemala, and Cebu. Last year, Direct also outsourced customer billing services to HCL in India.
"Complaints about Utility.net barely register."
The two competitive retailers competing for a perfect record are ENCOR and UTILITYnet. To be completely transparent, UTILITYnet is the Calgary-based utility retailer that I co-own with Madeline Low. We’ve dedicated 35 years to improving our customer care, billing and business activities for 24 of Alberta’s independent boutique retailers in the province; we’ve also just launched Green Alberta Energy in support of renewable resources. Some of the retailers under the UTILITYnet umbrella include Sponsor, Get Energy, Mountain View Power, Bow Valley and Spot Power. Here’s the complete list.
In recent years, we had one complaint from a customer and that person was referred to the UCA. The consumer felt that it was his right not to pay his utility bill, if he didn’t want too. The case was dismissed.
The staff at UNET do a great job for all retailers. So, as we start another New Year, we want to thank everyone who makes this possible...and who keep us at the bottom of the complaint list.
By the way, 2015 ended on a positive note for customers who are on the Floating Rate in Alberta. Power Pool prices dropped 32% between 2014 and 2015. For the last 6 consecutive months, Pool Prices have been at record lows and this translated into savings for consumers. Indexed to the cost of generation, consumers paid 3.5 cents per kWh in December.
There’s more Good News in 2016:
- Fixed Electricity Prices are coming down. On January 1st, consumers can now find electricity rates in the 5 cent range;
- In the spirit of helping to Green the Grid: Consumers can now offset any percentage of their monthly consumption with Green Renewable Energy.
You’ve got a powerful choice: You can support Alberta-based utility companies…pay less…and even get great customer service.